USTTI Course 19-311September 24, 2019

Microwave Path Engineering

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Course Outline

1. Microwave Components

2. RF Propagation

3. Link Budget

4. Reliability

5. Interference Analysis

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Microwave Diagram

Antenna

Waveguide

Radio Radio

Antenna

Waveguide

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Radio Equipment

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Radio Equipment

• “Waterfall” Curves

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40-12

-11

-10

-9

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

C/N (RF Carrier-to-Noise Ratio) dB

Log

BER

Prob

abili

ty (e

.g. -

6 =

10-6

BER

)

Theoretical Error Performance of Digital Modulation Schemes

BPSK

4 PSKQPSK4 QAM

8 PSK

16 QAM 64 QAM 256 QAM

Excludes FECImprovement

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Radio Equipment

• Threshold– Minimum receiver input level below which BER becomes excessive due

to thermal noise• The 10-6 BER threshold is called the Static Threshold• The 10-3 BER threshold is called the Dynamic or Outage Threshold

• Oversaturation Level– Maximum receiver input level above which BER becomes excessive

due to overdriving electronics into saturation (distortion)• Receiver can operate with low error rate between threshold and

oversaturation dynamic range

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Radio Equipment - Data Rates of Common InterfacesNorth American Digital Hierarchy

Designation Data Rate DS0's (# of VC)

DS1 (T1) 1.544 Mb/s 24

DS2 (T2) 6.312 Mb/s 96

DS3 (T3) 45 Mb/s 672

3xDS3 135 Mb/s 2016

DS5 (T5) 400 Mb/s 5760

European Digital Hierarchy

Designation Data Rate DS0's (# of VC)

E1 2.048 Mb/s 32

E2 8.448 Mb/s 128

E3 34.4 Mb/s 512

E4 139.3 Mb/s 2048

E5 565 Mb/s 8192

Optical Signal Hierarchy

SONET Designation SDH Designation Data Rate

STS-3 STM-1 155.52 Mb/s

STS-12 STM-4 622.08 Mb/s

STS-48 STM-16 2488.32 Mb/s

STS-192 STM-64 9953.28 Mb/s

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Transmission Lines

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Transmission Lines

• Maximum useful frequency is fmax, above which electromagnetic modes in addition to the fundamental mode can propagate introducing dispersion (distortion)

• Waveguides have a cutoff frequency fco, the lowest frequency that will propagate along the waveguide without dying out

• Useful Frequency Ranges:– Coax: 0 to fmax

– Waveguide: fco to fmax

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Transmission Lines

Transmission Line Loss (dB/100 ft)

Coaxial Cable

Elliptical Waveguide3/8" (SFX-500) 7/8" (FXL-780) 1-5/8" (FXL-1873)

960 MHz 3.12 1.16 0.66 x

2.1 GHz 4.72 1.79 1.05 0.35 (EW17)

3.7 GHz 6.41 2.48 x 0.92 (EW37)

6.2 GHz 8.51 x x 1.43 (EW63)

11 GHz 11.90 x x 3.06 (EW90)

18 GHz x x x 5.91 (EW180)

23 GHz x x x 8.34 (EW220)

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Microwave Antennas

Direct Radiating Antennas focus the radio beam generally by using a feed source to illuminate a curved (Parabolic) reflecting surface.

Increasing Weight

Increasing Quality

Increasing $$$

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Microwave Antennas

Parabolic Reflector Antenna: a feed illuminates a parabolic reflector to focus the radio beam in the desired direction

Grid(ULine)

Standard(PL, PAR)

UltraHighPerformance(UHP, UHX)

ValuLineHighPerformanceLow Profile(VHLP)

SuperHighPerformance(Sentinel SHP)

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Microwave Antennas

• Antenna Gain (Maximum Power Gain)

− Gain is inversely proportional to beamwidth

− Gain is directly proportional to reflector size, operating frequency and efficiency

=

intensityradiationisotropic intensityradiationmaximum*)efficiency(G

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Microwave Antennas

• Antenna Gain

dBicdfe

dBieAG

2

log10

4log10 2

=

=

π

πλ

G = Antenna Gain in dBi (reference to isotropic radiator)e = Antenna efficiency: 0.5 < e < 0.7, typically 0.55A = Area of aperture (reflective surface) in units of wavelengthλ = Wavelength = c/fc = Speed of light ≈ 3.0 x 108 m/sf = Frequency (hz)d = antenna diameter

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Microwave Antennas

• Not possible to construct perfect antennas

– Highest gain concentrated in region near main beam, but lower gains exist in other directions

– The off-axis response presents a potential for interference from or into the antenna

• Discrimination – Ratio (expressed in dB) of the gain at an off-axis angle to the main

beam (maximum on-axis) gain

– Influenced by• Quality / Performance Level of antenna• Direction (Discrimination Angle)• Polarization (Vertical or Horizontal)

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Microwave Antennas

• Beamwidth– Angle between the half-power (3 dB) points of the main beam– Figure-of-merit on how effectively the antenna concentrates the radiated

power in the desired direction

3 dB Beamwidth1.8o

3 dB Beamwidth1.8º

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Microwave Antennas

• For a Given Antenna Size, Directionality Depends on:− Frequency− Performance Category

Parabolic Diameter

(ft) PerformanceBand (GHz)

Gain (dBi)

Beamwidth (deg)

F/B Ratio (dB)

6 Standard 6.2 38.9 1.8 46.06 Ultra High 6.2 38.8 1.8 75.06 Standard 11 44.0 1.0 51.06 Ultra High 11 44.0 1.1 80.0

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Microwave Antennas

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Microwave Antennas

Near Transition FarNear Transition Far

• Antenna Field Patterns– Near field: Radiation Pattern not well formed

– Transition: Pattern begins to form but still depends on distance• Near/Transition Boundary πD2/(8λ)

– Far field: Pattern fully formed and independent of distance• Transition/Far Boundary at 2D2/λ

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RF Propagation

Microwave Path Engineering

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RF Propagation

• Some Basics– Frequency (f)—Number of repetitions (cycles) per second (Hz)

– Period (τ)—Duration of a Single Cycle (seconds)

– Wavelength (λ)—Distance wave travels in one period

– Speed of Light (c) = 2.99792458x108 m/s

f = 1/τ = c/λλ

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Free Space Path Loss

• The difference between power transmitted & power received is called Path Loss

• The portion of Path Loss attributed to the spreading effect of signal is referred to as Free Space Path Loss

• Free Space Path Loss is inversely proportional to the square of the wavelength

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Free Space Path Loss

• The Free Space Path Loss Equation(s):– FSPLmi = 96.6 + 20log(fGHz) + 20log(dmi) dB

– FSPLkm = 92.4 + 20log(fGHz) + 20log(dkm) dB

o Example:– What’s the FSPL for a 20 mi path at 6.175 GHz?

– FSPL = 96.6 + 20log(6.175) + 20log(20) dB = 138.4 dB

– What’s the FSPL at 10 mi? 40 mi?

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Atmospheric Absorption

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Fresnel Zone

Microwave Path Engineering

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Fresnel Zones

• Reflections from objects at the surface of odd numbered Fresnel zones will add in phase at the receiver

– (180o shift + n x ½ wavelengths)

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Fresnel Zones

• Reflections from objects at the surface of even numbered Fresnel zones will be anti-phase at the receiver

– (180o shift + n wavelengths)

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Fresnel Zone Diagram

fDdndF n

211.72=

Fn = nth Fresnel Zone radius in feetd1 = distance from one end of the path to the reflection point in milesD = total path lengthd2 = D - d1f = frequency in GHz

d2d1

D

Fn

Where:

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Fresnel Zone Examples

d2d1

D

Fn

fDdndF n

211.72=

If : D = 30 mi D = 30 mi D = 8 mi D = 3 mi d1 = d2 = 15 mi d1 = d2 = 15 mi d1 = d2 = 4 mi d1 = d2 = 1.5 mi f = 1.9 GHz f = 6.7 GHz f = 23 GHz f = 38 GHz

Then: F1 = 143.25 ft F1 = 76.3 ft F1 = 21.3 ft F1 = 10.3 ft

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Fresnel Zones

Path clearance less than 0.6*F1 can result in additional path loss due to diffraction

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K Factor

Microwave Path Engineering

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K Factor

• This causes a bending of the rays from the transmitter to the receiver– The ray bends up for typically negative dn/dh

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K Factor

• However, if dn/dh is positive, the ray bends down towards the ground

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K Factor

• Worldwide map of dN/dh (∆N)

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K Factor

• It is convenient to model the bending ray as an increase in the curvature of the earth, leaving the ray straight

Normal earthradius a

Increased earth bendingradius ae

ae

a

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K Factor

• Now, we have a relationship between the effective earth radius, ae and the actual earth radius a (6370 km):

ae = kaor

k = a / ae= 1/(1+a(dn/dh))= 1/(1+a(dN/dh) x 10-6)

plugging for a:k = 157 / (157 + dN/dh)

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K Factor

• Earth bulge (h):

h = d1d2/12.75k metersh = 0 for k = infinity

h

d2d2

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Path Clearance

Microwave Path Engineering

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Path Clearance

• Path profile

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Path Clearance

• Proper Path Clearance

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Path Clearance

• Excessive Path Clearance

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Reliability

Microwave Path Engineering

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Reliability

Outage

• Time that the RSL is faded below the Receiver Threshold is outage

• Outage is calculated as time below 10-6 BER for most purposes

• In the past, outage was calculated as time below 10-3

BER for telephony since the PCM multiplexers lose framing just below this BER

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Reliability

Fade Margin• The amount the signal may fade

before a path outage results• Digital—Composite Fade Margin

• Includes a Thermal (or Flat) Fade Margin term that is the difference between the normal RSL and the minimum usable signal (Receiver Threshold) level. Also includes terms taking into account the effect of frequency selective fading in the channel (Dispersive Fade Margin) and the effect of interference (External Interference Fade Margin)

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Reliability

• Composite Fade Margin Equation

+++−=

−−−−10101010 10101010log10

AIFMEIFMTFMDFMCFM

CFM = Composite fade margin

DFM = Dispersive fade margin

TFM = Thermal fade margin (Receive level - Threshold)

EIFM = External interference fade margin

AIFM = Adjacent-channel interference fade margin

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Reliability

• Example:

If the RSL is -40 dBm, the Receiver Threshold is -75 dBm, the Dispersive Fade Margin is 50 dB, and the External Interference Fade Margin is 60 dB, what is the Composite Fade Margin of the link?

– TFM = -40 - (-75) = 35 – CFM = -10log(10-5+10-3.5+10-6) =

34.85 dB

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Reliability

• The fade margin must be high enough to allow the path to meet the reliability objective

• Vigants (1975) gave a formula for predicting the link outage time based on the fade margin

• Outage time is dependent on:

– climate, terrain, temperature, frequency, and path length

• Outage time can be greatly reduced by using frequency and/or space diversity

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Reliability

• There are 31,536,000 seconds in a year

• An availability of 99.99% (four nines) means an outage of 3153.5 seconds per year, or about 53 minutes

• An availability of 99.999% (five nines) means an outage of 315.35 seconds per year, or about 5 minutes

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0

100 10

IrTT

CFM

−

×=

Reliability

• Vigants Multipath Outage Model– Predicts Atmospheric Multipath Fading

T = annual outage time (s)r = fade occurrence factorT0 = (t/50)(8*106) = length of the fading season (s)t = average annual temperature (F)CFM = Composite Fade Margin (dB)I0 = SD Improvement Factor (1 for non-diversity, >1 for diversity)

Where:

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Reliability

• Space Diversity Improvement Factor

−

×= 1025

0 10107CFM

DfsI

Where:s = vertical antenna spacing (ft) (s ≤ 50 feet)f = frequency (GHz)

D = path length (mi)CFM = composite fade margin (dB)

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Reliability

• Space Diversity Improvement Factor

– Example: Our 30 mile 6 GHz link has a Composite Fade Margin of 35 dB. If we add space diversity antennas 20 feet below the main antennas, by what factor do we predict that the atmospheric multipath fading outage will be reduced?

– Io = (7*10-5)(202)(6/30)(10(3.5)) = 17.7

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Reliability

• Fade Occurrence Factor

533.1

104

50 −×

= Df

wxr

Where:x = Climate factor (0.5 - 2 for poor - good areas, see map)w = Terrain roughness (20 ≤ w ≤ 140 ft.)f = frequency (GHz)d = Path length (mi)

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X = 1X = 0.5

X = 1X = 1.4

X = 2

X = 2

X = 2

Reliability

• Climate Factor

Hawaii / Caribbean: x = 2Alaska: for coastal & mountainous areas

for flat, permafrost tundra areas

X = 2X = 0.5X = 1

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Reliability

• Fade Occurrence Factor Example

– For an area of average propagation (x = 1) and a 30 mile path of average terrain roughness (w=50'), what is the fade occurrence factor at 6 Ghz?

– r = (1)(50/50)1.3(6/4)(303)(10-5) = 0.405

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Reliability

• Outage Example

– Our link has a CFM of 35 dB and a fade occurrence factor of 0.405. If the average annual temperature is 60o F, what is the expected annual outage due to atmospheric multipath fading without diversity?

– T0 = (60/50)(8*106) = 9.6*106 s

– T = (.405)(9.6*106)(10-3.5) = 1230 s

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Reliability

• Space Diversity Improvement Example

– The annual outage of 1230 s expected on this link doesn't meet the standard that we have established for our network. We calculate a space diversity improvement factor of 17.7 for a 20' antenna spacing. What annual outage do we expect with space diversity?

– T = 1230/17.7 = 70 s

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Reliability

• Rain Outage– Rain fades become significant when the

frequency is above 10 GHz – Crane model predicts fade depth probability

based on rainfall rate statistics by region (map) – Outage probability proportional to rain rate—

not total annual rainfall

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Reliability

• Rain Rate Climate Regions (Crane)

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Interference Calculations

Microwave Path Engineering

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Interference Calculations

Existing Path

Interference Path

Proposed New Path

A B

D E

• C/I: The ratio of desired signal power to interference power at the receiver input

C/I = C(dBm) – I (dBm)

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Interference Calculations

• Interference Level at B

PD = Transmit Power at D

GD = Antenna Gain at D

GB = Antenna Gain at BFSPLDB = Free Space Path Loss from D to B

LD = Fixed Losses at D

LB = Fixed Losses at B

IB = PD + GD - LD - FSPLDB + GB - LB -DTotal

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Interference Calculations

• Total Discrimination

A B

D Eα

β

Antenna D @ α VV 5VH 34HH 6HV 35

Antenna B @ βVV 13VH 29HH 9HV 32

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Interference Calculations

• ExampleWe suspect that a transmitter 40 miles away is a source of potential interference to a receiver on our 20 mile 6.175 GHz path. The power of both transmitters is 1 W (30 dBm). Assuming that all antenna gains are 40 dB, all line losses are 0 dB, that we are concerned about VV interference, and that the total discrimination is 18 dB as calculated on the previous slide, what is the C/I?

– C = 30+40-138.4+40 = -28.4 dBm

– I = 30+40-144.4+40-18 = -52.4 dBm

– C/I = -28.4 -(-52.4) = 24 dB

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Frequency Planning

• Earth Station Interference

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US 6.1 GHz Microwave Systems – May 2011

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www.comsearch.com

Thank You

Dr. Saúl A. Torricostorrico@comsearch.com

+1 (703) 726-5879